I thought it was normal for the K-5 to take a few seconds to clear the buffer, and while the buffer is being cleared, you can't view those images by pressing the play button. I certainly find that when I take five RAW images in a row (single shot, not continuous), I have to wait four to five seconds before the buffer light turns off and I can review the images.

Is someone saying you can take five photos in a row and *immediately* press the play button to review your images? Or are they saying it takes them four to five seconds to find the play button and by then the buffer light has cleared (so it seems instantaneous to them)?

I recently replaced a 32GB Class 6 card with a 32GB Class 10 card, and I've found it clears the buffer consistently faster. What normally took 30 seconds to clear with the Class 6 card now takes about 22 seconds with the Class 10 card.

p.s. But I, too, find the delay annoying. I've found that if I'm waiting for the buffer to clear during those 22 long seconds and I need to take a quick shot to see how something looks, I use the "digital preview" function that I have tied to the on/off dial. It lets me preview a shot while the buffer is still clearing.